MORE THAN HALF of American households interest credit on their f irst account opened.”
are behind where they should be in their sav- With the required $5,000 minimum
ings, and many that are putting money away deposit, Costco members pay no fees to
are not investing wisely, according to a Federal open or maintain a CD or money market
Reserve economic analysis. account. Account information is avail-
“The harsh reality is that many Ameri- able online 24 hours per day, and
cans are unprepared,” says Robin Glant, busi- members have check and ATM
ness and financial coordinator for Costco access to their money market funds.
member services. “They may have savings, “Money market accounts are
but the money is sitting in no- or low-inter- basically higher-interest savings
est accounts.” accounts,” says Robin. “Your
The good news is that with certificates of money is liquid and available—
deposit (CDs) and money market accounts, you can deposit and withdraw
someone can take a relatively risk-free money—with certain restrictions
approach to building up his or her savings. and limitations—but you’re earning
And for Costco members, the returns can be much more on your money. If you have
even greater. money that you save for a set period of time,
“The program offered to Costco mem- CDs can give you an even higher rate of
bers through Capital One is a simple way return. And your funds are FDIC insured.”
to safely compound savings,” says Robin. For most of us, savings have to be balanced PHOTODISC
“Capital One consistently ranks above the and integrated with all the other financial Says Robin, “For members who are
national average with their rates of return needs in our lives, such as a home purchase, just starting to build their savings, have a spe-for money market accounts. They offer exclu- children’s schooling, caring for an aging parent cific goal, or simply want to take a no-risk,
sive CD and money market rates for Costco and so forth. Many people feel nervous invest- high-yield approach to investing, this program
members, and Executive Members earn an ing money that they may need access to. is perfect.” —T. Foster Jones

Building wealth, There are three steps to setting up an automatic investment plan: Select your favorite
investments and how much you want to invest;
wise ly decide how often to invest; and provide a funding source.

Additionally, Costco members get special benefits, including a bonus for opening
IT SEEMS THAT many of us a new account, whether for themselves or
think investing is something for someone else as a gift.
out of our reach—too risky, “During the month of December,
complicated or expensive; Executive Members will receive a special
usually we don’t have that much $85 new-account bonus and Business and
money to play with or spare for a Gold Star members will receive a $65 new
typical brokerage’s account mini- account bonus,” says John. “To take advan-mums, costly commissions and other fees. PHOTODISC tage of this special offer, members just need

A program offered to Costco members to go to costco.com, click on ‘ShareBuilder
through ShareBuilder hopes to change that. from your bank account and buys the invest- Online Investing,’ then on ‘Special Offer’ and
Through this program—the Member Service ments you have selected. You can start or stop follow the steps to open their account.”—TFJ
of the Month for December—Costco and your plan at any time, or invest on the sched-

Share-Builder make it easy and affordable ule that you feel most comfortable with. Terms and conditions apply. See costco.com for details. ShareBuilder is offered through Share Builder Securities Corp., member
for Costco members to establish investment “Using ShareBuilder, you can make regu- NASD/SIPC, a subsidiary of ShareBuilder Corp. ShareBuilder
accounts and set up IRAs and Educational lar, automatic investments in more than 4,000 SecuritiesCorp. isaregisteredbroker/dealerthatisnotaffiliated
with Costco.

Forbes magazine three years in a row, allows ber services manager. “There are no account
members to invest a little bit at a time on a minimums and no inactivity fees, so it’s inex-weekly or monthly basis, rather than having pensive to open and maintain an account.”
to make lump-sum investments. Each week ShareBuilder also offers real-time trades,
or month (you decide), ShareBuilder auto- which let you buy or sell immediately during
matically withdraws the designated funds market hours.

Connecting

For more information on Capital One, call
toll-free 1-866-630-7953. For information
on ShareBuilder, call toll-free 1-866-684-
4568. For these and other services, visit
costco.com and click on “Services.”